


All Along

by MedicateMeDrMcCoy



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Reader Insert, Self realization, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, a little trip down the path of discovery, flashbacks down memory lane, leonard realizing hes been an idiot, little blake shelton lyrics to set the mood, little making out, smooches under the stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 15:00:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14311248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MedicateMeDrMcCoy/pseuds/MedicateMeDrMcCoy
Summary: Ever have something so obvious that it was staring you in the face all this time and you never even noticed it? Yeah, Leonard has seemed to come to that realization and he hopes it isn't too late to act on it.





	1. Chapter 1

Leonard stood at the small living room window, staring out into the backyard where you lay gazing up at the stars, with two glasses of tea in his hands. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t hear his mother come up behind him.

“I know that look. What’s on your mind, Leonard?” Elenora asked as she was drying her hands with a small dish towel, coming to stand by her son to see what had captured his attention so completely. Leonard glanced at his mother, her eyes curious and concerned with the way he’s been acting tonight. Leonard almost didn’t want to say, but in the end he decided to spill, hoping to get a second opinion.

“Mom, do you ever take a step back and realize that something has been staring you in the face the whole time and you were too blind to see?” Leonard began cryptically as he walked away from the window and sat down on the edge of the couch. Elenora went to follow, but not before catching a glimpse at what Leonard had been staring at before, a knowing smile crept up on her lips.

_I’ve been a walking heartache, I’ve made a mess of me_

**Flashback:**

A young girl sitting on the side of the dusty gravel road, clutching her knee tightly and sniffling. Her bike laying haphazardly in the road, next to the big rock she had tumbled over.

“Hey, are you okay?” A small boy called out as he noticed the small girl wipe away a tear and look up at him. The girl whimpered softly and shook her head as he watched her clutch her knee tightly. The boy frowned as he made his way over to her quickly and laid down his bike.

_The person that I’ve been lately, ain’t who I wanna be_

“Here, let me see it.” The boy asked with his hands on his knees. The girl moved her hands away from her knee and the boy made a small grimace, it looked pretty bad but he wouldn’t admit it out loud to her, instead he jumped up to his feet and made his way to his bike. “You wait here, I’ll be right back, okay? I promise.”

The girl nodded her head with another small sniff and the boy hopped on his bike and peddled as fast as he could through the field and back to his house. He jumped off his bike and dashed inside, running quickly to the bathroom. Thankfully his parents were both out back so there wouldn’t be any questions of injuries.

The boy quickly climbed on the sink to reach the top shelf and grabbed a small bottle of ointment and a few bandaids and quickly made his way back to his bike and sped off the way he had come. The girl was thankfully just where he left her as he hopped off his bike once more, red faced, and almost out of breath at this point.

“I brought you some stuff my mom always uses for me. It burns like the dickens at first but it’ll help, I promise.” The boy said as he pulled out the small bottle of ointment and a couple bandaids.

“Want some help?” The boy added in as the girl made no movement to grab the ointment. The girl nodded slightly as the boy slowly and carefully moved her knee and pulled her ripped jeans away from the scrape.

_But you stay here right beside me and watch as the storm blows through and I need you_

“This is going to burn okay? But it’ll go away soon. I promise” The boy reminded the girl as he got the ointment ready to put on her knee. She nodded in reply and closed her eyes tight, waiting for the burn. The boy wasn’t lying and it burned like crazy. The girl bit her lip and shut her eyes tighter as she took in a small gasp from the sting, but the boy was right, it soon went away and when she opened her eyes she had a fresh band-aid on her knee.

“Feels better doesn’t it?” The boy asked, standing back up and offering his hand. The girl nodded with a small grin and took his hand as he helped her to her feet.

“I’m Leonard by the way, what’s your name?” Leonard asked when the girl was firmly on her feet, testing out her knee.

“I’m Y/N. Thank you for helping me.” The girl replied as she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes, her smile growing wider and in turn making Leonard sprout a big smile of his own.

**:End Flashback**

_‘Cause god gave me you for the ups and downs, god gave me you for the days of doubt_

“Ahh yes, I remember that day like it was yesterday. The two of you took to each other like ducks to water after that day. Hardly a day went by that the two of you weren’t off causing trouble.” Elenora remembered fondly as she sat down next to Leonard, patting his knee softly.

“Yeah, we were inseparable.” Leonard smiled at the memories of the two of you out in the field on summer days, the snowball fights in the winter, playing in the leaves in fall, and chasing rabbits in the spring.

“But it’s also got me so confused mom. I don’t even know where to start, or if she even feels the same way? And I’m as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.” Leonard continued, making Elenora pause for a moment and pursed her lips slightly before lifting her head to look at her son, meeting his eyes.

_And for when I think I lost my way, there are no words here left to say, it’s true, god gave me you_

“Son, I don’t claim to be an expert, but this is what I know. You’ve come a long way since you were just a boy and copying your father in his clinic all those years ago. You’ve made some mistakes along the way sure, but you’ve always learned from them and made the best of it and kept going. You’ve been through some extremely tough situations and known more heartache than anyone ever should. Even despite that, you have a wonderful outlook and a heart of gold and a forgiving nature and I couldn’t ask for a better son. Whatever you do, all I know is that you deserve to be happy. You’ve suffered enough Leonard. Y/N has been with you through everything and if this is going to make you happy, then you should seize it with both hands and never let it go.” Elenora finished with a fine sheen glistening in her eyes. Leonard looked back at his mother fondly and lovingly, a sheen of his own almost apparent in his eyes as well before he blinked them back quickly.

“You’re right mom. Here goes nothing.” Leonard said, his mind made up as he got up from the couch slowly and made his way to the door, pausing at the screen door, gazing out across the lawn to you once more, his mind slipping back once again to all those years ago.

_There’s more here than what we’re seeing, a divine conspiracy_

**Flashback:**

“Hello? A tired voice mumbled groggily into the phone. Leonard cringed inwardly, he hated to be a bother, especially with how late he knew you had been working lately.

“Hey Y/N, I’m sorry, did I wake you?” Leonard’s voice was unusually quiet and hollow on the other end of the line. He just couldn’t muster the energy to try and make himself sound anything but empty.

“Its…” There was a pause for a moment and Leonard guessed she was looking at the time. “1am Leonard, of course you woke me up, but what’s going on, are you okay?” Her voice suddenly going from slightly annoyed to concerned, it wasn’t like Leonard to call this late at night.

_That you an angel lovely, could somehow fall for me_

“Yeah I’m okay, but no I’m not alright. I mean, I don’t know.” Leonard sighed into the phone, before taking a deep breath on the other end. He hated burdening her with this. She had already been a tremendous help with everything else these past couple months, but there was no one else he felt he could turn to right now.

“Its alright Len, you can tell me.” She encouraged softly, otherwise staying quiet until Leonard decided if he really wanted to talk about it or not.

“I think… I think Joce and I are finally done.” Leonard confessed quietly after several seconds, so quiet she almost didn’t hear it. Leonard wasn’t sure what else to do.

“Oh god Leonard, are you sure this time? I mean…” She trailed off quietly. She knew Leonard and Jocelyn had been having problems, and there was talk of divorce but she had always thought that they would work through it and had been nothing but encouraging.

“Yeah, I think it’s for good this time.” Leonard breathed out, as if the words had actual weight attached to them. The stress in his voice just oozing through the phone, it was the first time he had admitted it outloud since him and Joce had finally agreed a couple days ago.

“Oh, Len, I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine what you must be going through. If there’s anything at all I can do to help, you know I’ll do it.” Leonard could hear the sincerity behind her words and he breathed out a small sigh of relief, already feeling somewhat better, just by hearing her voice and knowing she was there for him.

_You’ll always be love’s great martyr, and I’ll be the flattered fool, and I need you_

“That’s kind of why I called Y/N.” Leonard sighed softly into the phone. “I can’t… I can’t stay here anymore. Would it be okay if I maybe came and stayed at your place for a couple days? Just until I can think things through?” Leonard asked hopefully, he hated to ask but he couldn’t stand to be under the same roof as Jocelyn any longer.

“Of course you can, Len. You know I’ve only got that old lumpy couch but you’re welcome to it as long as you need it. Are you coming tonight? I’ll fix it up for you.” She said quickly and Leonard could hear the rustling of sheets in the background, waiting on Leonard’s reply before she fully got out of bed.

“If it’s not too much trouble?” Leonard asked hesitantly. “I can’t be here right now.”

“Sure. Come over and I’ll have it ready for you, okay? No worries.” She replied as she got up out of bed and Leonard could hear her closet opening where he knew she kept a few extra blankets.

_god gave me you for the ups and downs, god gave me you for the days of doubt_

“Thank you, Y/N, thank you so much. You’re amazing.” Leonard said softly into the phone. “I’ll be there soon.” Leonard finished quietly before hanging up the phone. Leonard breathed out a heavy sigh as he sat his phone back down on the island. If he had nothing left after this divorce was over, at the very least he would still have Y/N by his side, and that thought comforted him.

**:End Flashback**

Leonard took a deep breath, shaking his head of the memory as he fumbled with the door and the glasses of tea in his hands until Elenora finally came and opened the door for him.

“Thanks mom.” Leonard replied with a sheepish grin. Elenora returned his grin with a wink, and shooed him quietly out of the door. Leonard’s grin turned into a smile with a small eyeroll, he mouthed “wish me luck” to his mom as he walked slowly out the door.

Leonard slowly and quietly walked to the end of the porch, watching you as you put your arms behind your head, pointing and drawing out the star constellations with your fingers. Leonard couldn’t help but grin at the sight, even if his heart was beating faster and his stomach was in knots. Leonard began walking down the steps as his mind wandered once more as he made his way to where you lay.

_And for when I think I lost my way, there are no words here left to say, it’s true, god gave me you_

**Flashback:**

“Good lord, I didn’t think there would be so much work involved!” She groaned loudly into her pillow as she looked around the floor at all her books scattered around and all her note tabs on her PADD.

“No one forced you to follow me, Y/N.” Leonard said with a smirk as he watched her from his small bed, his own PADD in his hands, going over his notes and homework, laughing to himself. Secretly he was grateful that you decided to follow after him. It made the transition easier and it calmed his nerves and eased his mind knowing you were beside him still, backing him up.

“What? You really thought I was going to let you come alone and have all the fun and adventures? I think not, Leonard! Who else is going to take care of your grumpy ass?” She said, trying to sound offended, but Leonard knew better and gave her a small snort in reply. He’d never admit that she was right, and he probably would have never made it this far without her.

“Then you better get to work, Y/N. That paper isn’t going to write itself.” Jim teased from his small bed on the other side of the room, prying himself away from his own studies to take a jab at her.

_On my own I’m only half of what I could be, I can’t do without you_

“Oh now it’s two against one? I thought you were on my side, Kirk? Who asked you anyway?” She replied with a huff, tossing her pillow at Jim’s head, hitting him square in the face. Leonard always thought that she had a good arm, and she could prove it, he remembered those snowballs to his own face none too fondly. Jim just stared at her pillow in shock. Leonard then rolled his eyes and continued his homework.

She didn’t expect to actually hit him. Her hand quickly went to her mouth as she tried to hold in her laugh, but failed miserably, she cracked up at the incredulous look on Jim’s face. Leonard had to admit to himself that it was pretty funny, and hid his smirk behind his PADD.

“Oh you think that’s funny do you? This means war!” Jim declared, returning fire with his own pillows, but missing and almost knocking over her drink on the table.

“Alright you infants, that’s enough before you break everything in the room.” Leonard glared over his PADD at the two of them, they froze in mid throw as he spoke. The two of them exchanged knowing glances and both quickly turned to look at Leonard, with mischievous grins on both their faces.

_We are stitched together and what love has tethered, I pray we never undo_

“Oh no, don’t you dare! I will hypo the two of you into next week if you so even…” Leonard warned but he didn’t get very far before the pillows were flying in his direction, he barely had time to block the shots, returning fire in kind. Laughter and squeals filled the room as the three of you battled it out, letting off some much needed steam.

**:End Flashback**

“Did you get lost?” You teased as you heard Leonard’s footsteps getting closer, leaning your head over in his direction, snapping Leonard out of his thoughts.

“You know how mom is, always needs help with something. In this case, the dishes.” Leonard lied smoothly, covering up his and his moms earlier conversation, he had hoped anyway. He was grateful that it was dark outside, so it hid the fact that he was beginning to sweat.

“You should have hollered, I would have came and helped.” You said as you sat up, taking the tea from Leonard’s outstretched hand, taking a long sip. Leonard’s mom really knew how to make a mean glass of iced tea.

“Nonsense, I didn’t ask you to come with me to visit so you can do dishes.” Leonard laughed slightly out of amusement and slightly to try and hide his nervousness as he sat down close to you in the grass.

“Thanks for the invite by the way. It was nice seeing your mom and dad again, it’s been way too long.” You said, glancing over at Leonard, sitting your tea in your lap. You regarded Leonard closely, it hadn’t escaped you that he had been acting odd tonight.

_'Cause god gave me you for the ups and downs, god gave me you for the days of doubt_

“No worries, Y/N. My mom loves having you over, sometimes I even think she likes you more than me.” Leonard said with a louder laugh, causing you to laugh as well. Leonard loved to hear you laugh, it was like music to his ears, and always made his heart light as a smile spread across his face for a brief moment.

“Y/N…” Leonard cleared his throat. Might as well jump right in, right? “I have a small confession. I didn’t bring you out here just for a visit.” Leonard continued, not quite looking you in the eye, choosing to half look at the stars.

“Oh?” You said curiously, waiting on him to continue as you quirked an eyebrow in reply, something you had perfected from hanging out with Leonard so much.

“Yeah, I uh, I don’t really know how to say this and you can tell me to shut up anytime and we’ll forget I even said anything, okay?” Leonard rubbed his face nervously before finally looking you in the eyes. There wasn’t any backing out now, it was now or never.

_god gave me you for the ups and downs, god gave me you for the days of doubt_

“Y/N, we’ve known each other almost our whole lives. Were the best of friends, just don’t tell Jim that okay? We know everything there is to know about each other. We’ve been there through each others high points, and our low points. You’ve always been by my side and never left me and have always been in my corner. And I’ve been an idiot, a real idiot for not being able to see what was right in front of me all along.” Leonard rubbed the back of his neck with his hand nervously. His mouth was so very dry, despite all the tea hes drunk and his hands were so sweaty.

“Leonard, are you asking me if I’ll go out with you?” You said as a smirk began to form on your lips as you gathered where Leonard was going with this, there was no other explanation for his nervousness or his words.

“Well, I mean, yeah? I guess I am. It’s not weird is it? It’s just, after Nero’s attack, and us almost not making it back and the thought of losing you or never seeing you again, I guess it just hit me like a ton of bricks. I care about you Y/N, and up until now, I didn’t realize just how much. I care about you more than a friend and I mean, I get it if you don’t feel the same way, we’ve been friends for so long and…” Leonard rambled on before you brought your fingers to his lips, shushing him.

“Can you stop talking for 3 seconds and let me get a word in edgewise?” You teased, laughing at the look on Leonard’s face. You had never seen him so nervous. Someone who was always calm under pressure, even when someone was bleeding out underneath him, Leonard never lost his cool this badly. You knew he had to be a nervous wreck and had been thinking about this for a while.

_And for when I think I lost my way, there are no words here left to say,_

“The truth is, I’ve been thinking about this a lot too. I just didn’t know how to bring it up and you just so happened to beat me to it.” You answered with a smile. The look on Leonard’s face was priceless as it lit up slightly with hope.

“You have?” Leonard asked in almost disbelief, his eyes going slightly wide. He never imagined that this would be your reply. He envisioned every possible scenario of you running away, screaming for the hills, or even worse, that this might even ruin your friendship with his confession.

“I think a part of me has always liked you Leonard but the timing had never been right, or one of us had been in another relationship or school or whatever, but now? We’re finally where we both want to be and have nothing to get in the way of us making the future that we want. And I think I like the thought of a future with you and me.” You answered Leonard with a smile, all the fond memories you had of the two of you flashing through your head as you thought back to all the good times the two of you shared.

Leonard couldn’t believe his ears and almost asked you to repeat yourself, but didn’t dare, in case you decided you change your answer, and only put on a huge grin from ear to ear.

“Y/N, you’ve made me the happiest man alive. Where do we go from here?” Leonard asked, the two of you were such great friends, and already knew practically everything there was to know about each other that the typical first date seemed kind of out of place.

“Well, we could start here?” You suggested as you leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Leonard’s lips. Leonard jumped slightly at your touch before melting into your kiss. It wasn’t weird like he thought it might be, it felt right, it felt like home. Warmness crept through him as his heart skipped a beat, and he knew he made the right decision.

You felt equally as happy as you pulled away slightly from the kiss, a smile plastered on your face as you saw the excited gleam in Leonard’s eye.

“I like the way you think, darlin’.” Leonard laughed as he gave you a quick peck and stood up slowly, holding out his hand. You took Leonard’s hand as he helped you off the grass.

“I’m Leonard by the way, what’s your name?” Leonard asked playfully with a big smile on his face as he brought you carefully to your feet.

“I’m Y/N. Thank you for helping me.” You replied with a laugh, poking Leonard in the ribs, causing him to join you, both your laughter mixing and dancing in the warm summer air. You hardly believed that he remembered that day so very long ago. Leonard kept a hold on your hand as he brought you in close to his chest and wrapped his other arm around your waist and began to rock the two of you slowly in small circles.

“You really are beautiful Y/N, you know that?” Leonard said softly as he looked down at you with awe, eyes dancing around your features, as if it was something that had escaped him all these years. He planned to make up for all those lost years, and then some.

“You old romantic, but I think that’s going to take some time to get used to hearing from you.” You giggled softly, burying your head in Leonard’s chest, hardly believing what was happening, it all felt like a dream come true. Everything falling into place. Being with Leonard was as easy as breathing.

“You know me best sweetheart and we have all the time in the world to get used to it.” Leonard replied as he dipped you quickly and bringing you back up to meet his lips. Leonard couldn’t believe you had returned his feelings as his mind wandered to all the possibilities that lie in front of you both. He finally felt happy and hopeful for his future.

“That I do.” You agreed, kissing Leonard back slowly before resting your head on his shoulder as the two of you continued to dance around under the stars, not needing to speak as the two of you enjoyed being together. There was plenty of time to figure out everything later, tonight it was just the two souls that had been destined to be together after all this time, finally becoming one.

_It’s true, god gave me you, he gave me you_


	2. Chapter 2

You sighed into the otherwise empty room, it was still dark out, you rolled over to glance at the clock; 5:30am. You groaned softly and rubbed your face. You resigned yourself after what felt like forever of tossing and turning that you wouldn’t be going back to sleep so you sat up on the edge of the bed and wrapped a blanket around you, shuffling quietly out of the room you were staying in, trying not to wake anyone up. It was entirely too early to be up on your shore leave, but now is when your shift normally started, and old habits are hard to break.

Not to mention as soon as you first woke up, the night before came zooming to the front of your mind, almost buzzing with the fact that Leonard had opened up and confessed that he loved you, along with you returning his sentiments. The butterflies danced in your stomach and thoughts of the future and what all this meant kept going over in your head.

You still weren’t quite sure what to think, it had all happened so fast, you couldn’t hardly believe that Leonard loved you as well, it all seemed too good to be true. All these years you never dreamed Leonard would have seen you as anything but a good friend.

You forwent the coffee, as much as you needed a cup, still not wanting to wake anyone up as you quietly padded past the kitchen and to the back door. You opened the door gently and stepped out onto the patio, it was still dark outside with just a faint hint of light, indicating the oncoming sunrise.

You sat on the porch swing and adjusted the blanket around you, snuggling into the warmth you sighed and gazed up at the slowing fading stars, rocking yourself slowly in the swing. You were warm and relaxed and started dozing off and on before a voice startled you awake.

“I thought I heard the porch swing creaking.” Leonard chuckled sleepily as he handed you a fresh cup of coffee just the way you liked it.

“Bless you, Len. I was too afraid I’d wake everyone up.” You said quietly as you took the cup of coffee from his hand, sipping it gratefully, it was just what you needed. Then the realization hit you. “I’m sorry if I woke you up, I tried to be quiet.” You apologized, sitting your coffee cup down on the blanket, keeping your hands around it.

“You didn’t wake me up, Y/N. All these years of sporadic schedules tend to mess with ones sleeping patterns. Plus living on a farm, you get used to waking up early. Mom’s already in the kitchen making breakfast. She’s practically about to burst with how excited she is.” Leonard chuckled as he stood next to you, sipped his coffee slowly, staring out across the field.

You couldn’t help but notice the way his pajama pants hung low on his hips, or the way his t-shirt clung to him in all the right places, or the way his hair was adorably mussed and sticking up every which way.

You shook your head, trying to get those thoughts out of your head, for now. You opened up the blanket, patting it softly, inviting Leonard to sit in with you. Leonard took you up on your offer with a small grin, sitting gently on the swing next to you.

“I’m glad your mom approves.” You chuckled softly as you moved the blanket out of Leonards way. “Does she need any help?” You added in as Leonard got comfortable next to you on the swing.

“Like she wouldn’t approve of you, she couldn’t be happier, but guests don’t cook in this house so unless you want to be chased out of the kitchen with a dish rag, I suggest you stay out here and enjoy the quiet morning.” Leonard smirked as he patted your leg gently, sipping his coffee slowly.

“I’ve been around long here enough to hardly be called a guest, this was practically my home away from home.” You replied with a chuckle, placing your hand over his.

“If you want to try to tell mom that, then be my guest. I’ll be out here where it’s safe.” Leonard laughed as he lifted your hand and kissed it softly.

“My hero.” You replied with a smirk as you poked Leonard gently in his side, earning a small laugh from the other.

“One of the reasons why I’ve lived this long is because I learned early on not to argue with mom. You won’t win, and I’m not one to go looking for trouble where I know I’ll find it.” Leonard replied with a small chuckle as he kissed your temple softly.

You wrapped the both of you in the blanket as you snuggled into Leonard, trying to get rid of the slight nip of the cool air. Leonard wrapped his arm around you and gave you a tight squeeze before continuing to sip his coffee.

“This is still so weird you know, but not in a bad way.” You said suddenly, breaking the silence of the early morning, glancing over at Leonard.

“I know, it’s going to take some getting used to, we’ve been friends for so long. But you make me happy Y/N, the stress and everything else, just melts away when I’m with you. I was stupid for not seeing it earlier, and I’m sorry. I just hope that I can make you as happy as you always make me.” Leonard said softly, placing a soft kiss on the top of your head, so soft you almost couldn’t feel it.

“Of course you make me happy, Len. You’ve always been my rock and my happy place when everything around me seems to be burning to the ground. You can always somehow make me laugh and forget anything that made me upset. Don’t apologize for anything Len, we’re here now.” You replied as you took his hand into yours, squeezing softly. You were taken aback slightly at Leonard’s words, but still touched all the same, you could have sworn your heart skipped a beat or two.

You snuggled into Leonard further, as if reinforcing your words to him, laying your head on his shoulder. Leonard didn’t reply but he laid his head on yours gently and squeezed his arm tightly around you. The two of you didn’t speak anymore as the sun slowly started to peek over the horizon.

As much as you loved space, this was one of the things you missed the most, sunrises and sunsets. There was just something about them out in the country, in the fresh open air, that made them that much better.

The sky began to brighten even more as the pinks and purples started dancing along the horizon. The sun rose quickly and the colors began to shift to the familiar yellows and reds across a perfectly clear sky. It was gorgeous, as much as you would have liked to have slept in, you were glad you got to watch at least one sunrise.

“What are your plans for today?” You mumbled into Leonard’s shoulder as the last of the colors faded from the sky, trying to rub the sleep off your face. Leonard chuckled softly as you nuzzled into his shoulder, and brought his free hand up and ran them through your hair a few times.

“I thought we could go for a walk if you want?” Leonard asked, gazing down at you, brushing the hair from your forehead.

“A walk? Where to?” You asked curiously, eyebrow quirked, gazing back up at Leonard. You had been up and down every inch of this farm and there weren’t many places to take a leisurely stroll.

“You’ll see.” Leonard said with a small smirk before moving you off of himself gently, standing up and offering you a hand. “Now come on, I bet breakfast is just about ready.”

You glared up at Leonard, but the other held his sly smirk as you took his hand, helping you off the swing. You yawned as you took another sip of your coffee, shuffling after Leonard and back into the house. The house smelled wonderful and immediately your stomach growled.

“I heard that! Get in here and make yourselves plates before it gets cold.” Eleonora’s voice called from in the kitchen.

You sat down your coffee cup and glanced at Leonard briefly before taking off down the hall.

“Me first!” You said over your shoulder, throwing your blanket at Leonard in an attempt to slow him down.

“Hey! Get back here cheater!” Leonard called with a laugh as he sidestepped the blanket and gave chase. You giggled as you felt his arms wrap around your stomach, lifting you gently and setting you down behind him.

“Hey! Now who’s the cheater?!” You called as you grabbed for Leonard’s pajama pants, snapping them from behind, causing Leonard to falter. This gave you the advantage you needed and stepped past Leonard and to the end of the hallway.

“I win!” You said as you lifted your hands in the air in victory, turning around to smirk at Leonard.

“You play dirty.” Leonard said as he adjusted his pajama pants, giving you an accusing scowl.

“I play to win McCoy.” You said with a wink. “No need to be a sore loser.” You added with an even larger smirk than before.

“Well see who the loser is later when all bets are off.” Leonard murmured lowly in your ear so only you were able to hear. A shudder coursed down your spine at the implication of his words. It was new, hearing Leonard talk to you this way, but you were enjoying it.

“Is that a promise, McCoy?” You whispered back as you nipped Leonard’s ear. You were slowly getting over awkwardness of everything, but words were one thing, actions were another. Sleeping with Leonard after being friends for 25+ years was definitely going to be very different, but deep down you were certainly looking forward to it.

Leonard nibbled your neck playfully in response, causing you to laugh and try to bat Leonard away as you rounded the corner and into the kitchen.

“Ahh to be young again.” Eleonora said with a smile as she handed the two of you plates, you could see the gleam of genuine happiness in her eyes as she looked between the two of you.

“Oh mom, you’re not that old. By the way, Moses called while you were out, wants you to call him ba… ow!” Leonard said sharply as he brought his hand up to his ear and ducked his head away from his mom, causing you to bust up laughing.

“You always did have the fastest reflexes.” You said between laughs to Eleonora, causing Leonard to scowl at you. “What? You can’t act like you didn’t deserve that.” You added as you saw Leonard’s scowl, pointing at him with a fork.

“Yeah, yeah.” Leonard replied with a smile as he wrapped his arm around his mom, giving her a small hug. Eleonora hugged him back and kissed his cheek as the three of you sat down and ate breakfast.

By the time breakfast was done, everyone was stuffed, Eleonora always did cook way too much. You tried to help with the clean up as much as you could before Eleonora shooed the both of you out of the kitchen.

“So you never did tell me where this spot is.” You said to Leonard as the two of you walked down the hall and back to your bedrooms.

“Go change and I’ll show you.” Leonard said with a grin as he disappeared into one of the spare bedrooms. You hated not knowing but you ducked into your room and changed quickly.

You met Leonard by the back door, excited at the idea of spending the day alone with him, it had been far too long since the two of you had spent any significant time by yourselves. Your shifts were either getting in the way, or Jim was always around, which was fine, but being alone like it used to be, with no interruptions, was going to be nice.

You looked through the backdoor before opening it. Leonard was standing on the deck, leaning up against the railing and looking out over the field. He was wearing his Starfleet medical t-shirt, you’d know that shirt anywhere and a pair of not too loose jeans and a pair of boots. It had been a while since you had seen him so relaxed.

You grinned to yourself and opened the door quietly and made your way across the deck, slipping your arms around Leonard, squeezing him softly.

“Hey darlin’, you ready?” Leonard asked as he returned your hug, kissing your forehead softly. You smiled and nodded, taking Leonard’s hand that he offered you as he led you across the deck and down the stairs.

“It’s been so long since I’ve been out here.” You said as you held onto Leonard’s hand, looking at the familiar yet older barn that you and Leonard used to play in all those years ago, the memories coming back like a flood, causing you to smile.

“Me too, sweetheart. That’s why I wanted to bring you out here, I found something you might like to go see.” Leonard replied as he squeezed your hand gently, smiling softly at you.

“And you’re still not going to tell me what it is?” You asked with a small hint of annoyance in your voice.

“Nope, that’s all part of the surprise, darlin’.” Leonard added in with a wink, tugging on your hand for you to follow him deeper into the property and into the tree line that separated them from their neighbors.

“That’s just mean, McCoy.” You replied, pretending to huff and be upset, finishing with a pouty lip, trying to convince Leonard to spill.

“Not gonna work, Y/N. Years of tolerance has been built up, I’m immune between you and Jim.” Leonard said with a laugh and he quickly kissed your pouted lip.

“Yeah well, Jim can’t do the things I can.” You mumbled teasingly, nipping Leonard’s lip slightly as he pulled away.

“I might be in trouble.” Leonard groaned softly as he pulled himself away from you hesitantly.

“Big trouble, McCoy.” You replied with a wink and a grin, it was becoming easier and easier to flirt and tease the longer you spent time together. Leonard gave a chuckling groan as he continued to pull you through the trees.

“What have I gotten myself into? I might have to rethink this.” Leonard said with a smirk, looking at you from over his shoulder, seeing the look of indignation on your face.

“Wow, now that’s just… hey!” You exclaimed as a familiar sight appeared from around Leonard. You dropped Leonard’s hand and ran up to it.

“The old fort! Oh man, I’d forgotten all about this. This brings back some memories.” You said excitedly as you ran around the outside before crawling in through the front door, and closing it behind you.

“Me too, I just so happened to find it out here. I can’t believe It’s still standing, it’s in shambles. Now get out of there before that thing collapses on top of you, Y/N.” Leonard said with a laugh at watching you scramble inside the fort.

“No way McCoy, Fort Y/N is back in service!” You shouted as you peered out at Leonard through the small window.

“Y/N, I really don’t want to have to drag you out of there, or fish you out when that thing collapses, now come out.” Leonard said once more, slight annoyance in his voice.

“Sorry, I can’t hear you! What’s the password?” You said sing songy through the window, giving Leonard a wide grin.

“Y/N…” Leonard growled lowly, his patience wearing thin, crossing his hands over his chest.

“Password please!” You replied once more with a giggle at the look of annoyance on Leonard’s face. You’d known Leonard long enough to know that he wasn’t really annoyed, he just like to act like it most times. Leonard sighed and rolled his eyes, giving in to the inevitable.

“Y/N rules, Leonard drools. Can I come in now?” Leonard relented with a heavy sigh, staring down at you.

“Entrance granted, sir. Come right in to my humble castle.” You said as you opened the front door, and gesturing Leonard inside.

“I can’t believe I’m crawling in this thing. Probably full of spiders, snakes, old rusty nails…” Leonard continued to grumble as he crawled inside.

“… Memories.” You finished for Leonard softly as you brushed your fingers across a plank that had both your names on it and “best friends forever” written underneath them. You smiled as you ran your finger down the scrawl that you two had made shortly after becoming best friends.

“Wow, I barely remember that, but at least it held true.” Leonard said as he too took in the messy scrawl on the wall, taking your hand into his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Yeah…” You agreed, giving a slight sniff, squeezing Leonard’s hand back as you continued to stare at the writing.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Leonard asked gently, suddenly concerned, with his full attention now on you.

“I… I don’t know? I’m happy I guess? All these years, everything we’ve been through together, we’ve always been there for each other, and now here we are, starting a new chapter and I couldn’t be more happy about it. I’m just really thankful that I’ve had you in my life, Len.” You stuttered quickly, wiping a stray tear off your cheek.

“Hey now, come here.” Leonard said softly as he leaned against the wall of the fort, checking for stray nails first, and tugged on your arm gently. You wiped your face again and crawled over Leonard and straddled his waist, resting your head on his shoulder.

“Y/N, you have no idea how happy I am right now, truth be told it’s why I couldn’t sleep. I feel better about things and the future, more than I have in years. I still feel like an idiot for not seeing this sooner, and I’ll never be able to apologize enough to you. You’ve held me together for all these years, been my rock, my advisor, my conscience, whenever I needed you, you were there. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t have you behind me, cheering me on. I’m so grateful were here now, together.” Leonard whispered into your ear as he slowly threaded his fingers through your hair.

“I thought you were going to make me feel better, not make me cry.” You laughed softly as you lifted your head and wiped your tears from your cheeks. Leonard chuckled as he kissed your cheek softly and helped wipe away your tears.

“I love you, Y/N. Best friends forever?” Leonard asked with a small smile, creeping up on his lips.

“I love you too, Len. The best of friends, and now so much more.” You agreed as you brought your hand up to Leonard’s cheek, rubbing it softly with your thumb. Leonard grinned fully as he rubbed his cheek against your hand. Leonard glanced up at you and you could see the love and sincerity in his eyes looking back at you.

You closed your eyes and leaned down to meet Leonard’s lips, Leonard eagerly returned the kiss, soft and gentle. Leonard was in no hurry as he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into him. You wrapped your arms around his neck, playing with the strands of hair at the base of his neck as you kissed and nipped his bottom lip softly.

Leonard chuckled and groaned as he planted kisses along your jaw, before ending with a slight nip to your ear, causing you to shudder. You could feel Leonard’s chest rumble as you snuggled into him, once again resting your head on his shoulder.

“I could sit right here all day, you’re comfy.” You said with a slight yawn as you squeezed your arms around Leonard.

“Well I’m glad you think so, but this wall is very unforgiving.” Leonard replied with a chuckle, kissing the top of your head. “What do you say we head back to the house and we can lie in an actual bed?” Leonard suggested as he pulled his head away, gazing down at you.

“That sounds even better, that coffee didn’t help much.” You said as you gave Leonard a small peck on the lips before moving off Leonard and crawling out of the front door. Leonard followed behind you and both of you stood up and gave a stretch, you gave Leonard a poke to his ribs, causing him to laugh.

“Last one there is a rotten egg!” You shouted as you took off at a run back to the house with a laugh.

“God dammit, Y/N! Get back here before you hurt yourself!” Leonard shouted after you as he gave chase. You made your way up the steps and to the top of the deck with ease, looking behind you and seeing a slightly out of breath Leonard bringing up the rear.

“I win again!” You shouted in victory as Leonard made his way tiredly up the steps and wrapped his arms around you, nibbling your neck, causing you to laugh.

“You only win because you cheat, sweetheart.” Leonard laughed into your neck as he rested his chin in the crook of your shoulder.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about Leonard, and frankly I’m a bit insulted that you would dare call me a cheater.” You huffed, trying to act offended but failed miserably as you giggled as Leonard’s slight scruff tickled your neck.

“Uh huh, I bet you are.” Leonard laughed as he let you go and moved towards the door, and held it open for you. “After you.” Leonard gestured and you walked past him and into the house.

It was quiet inside as you made your way back down the hall and into the spare bedroom that you were staying in. You kicked off your shoes and plopped down on top of the blankets, burying your head in the pillow.

“Scootch” Leonard said with a laugh, watching as you plopped down on the bed. You scooted over just a smidge, not hardly giving Leonard any room.

“Fine, have it your way.” Leonard said with a smirk as he too plopped down on the bed, successfully squishing you between him and the mattress.

“Hey! Off! Can’t breathe!” You wheezed in between breaths, causing Leonard to laugh as he rolled off of you. You scooted over toward the wall and Leonard moved in behind you, wrapping his arm around you and pulling you close to him. You sighed contently as you snuggled back into Leonard’s chest, the two of you fitting perfectly together, like you were made for each other.

“I love you, Y/N” Leonard said as he squeezed you tight, burying his head in your hair, giving you a soft kiss.

“I love you too, Len.” You said with a sigh as you squeezed Leonard’s arm back, relaxing into him as you felt the steady rise and fall of his chest against your back. Maybe it wouldn’t take as much time as you thought to get used to the idea of being with Leonard. The thought made you smile as you dozed off, wrapped tight in Leonard’s arms.


End file.
